R&B Condotta, Merrett Spring 2015 by Tulip Media Group

Condotta, Merrett & Co.

RISK& BUSINESS SPRING 2015

MAGAZINE

Kat Cole

The Rise of a Business Superstar From Hooters to Cinnabon to Group President, FOCUS Brands Inc.

7 Social Media Strategies • Hiring is a Risky Business • Equal or Equitable Pay • No More Problems RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

RISK& BUSINESS

MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGN CONTENT COORDINATOR

Carle Publishing Inc. Andy Buyting John Christenson Stacey Cowperthwaite

CONTRIBUTORS Peter Bagnulo Andy Buyting Amedeo Condotta Greg Crabtree John DiJulius III Eric Fry Vita Gauley Verne Harnish Dave Kerpen Joe Pulizzi Dr Brad Smart Neil Wadhwa

ADVERTISING (National) ADVERTISING (Local)

Keith Keane Amedeo Condotta

PHOTOGRAPHY All images sourced from Carle Publishing Inc. or Thinkstockphotos.ca unless otherwise identified.

3770 Montrose Road, Unit 15A Niagara Falls, ON L2H 3K3 Phone: 905.357.3006 www.condottamerrett.com Condotta Merrett Risk & Business MagazineTM is published by Carle Publishing Inc. All content, copyright ÂŠ 2015, Carle Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Risk & Business MagazineTM is a valued and recognized trademark of Carle Publishing Inc. This publication may not be reproduced, all or in part, without written consent from the publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all content in this publication, however, the publisher nor Condotta, Merrett & Company will be held responsible for omissions or errors. Please address all editorial and advertising inquiries to Carle Publishing Inc., Email: andy@carleventures. com. Carle Publishing Inc. is not held responsible for the loss, damage or any other injury to unsolicited material (including but not limited to manuscripts, artwork, photographs and advertisements). Unsolicited material must be included with a self-addressed, overnight-delivery return envelope, postage prepaid. Carle Publishing Inc. and Condotta, Merrett & Company will not give or rent your name, mailing address, or other contact information to third parties. Subscriptions are complimentary for qualified individuals. Carle Publishing Toll Free: (877) 719-8919, Fax: (866) 609-5674 Email: info@carlepublishing.com Website: www.carlepublishing.com

16 From Waitress to President:

The Rise of a Business Superstar

Kat Cole’s Sweet Success

CONTENTS Letter from the Owner

News & Events

No More Problems, Please!

Community Involvement at Condotta Merrett A Different Approach to Strategy for all Companies

7 Social Media Strategies

Hiring is a Risky Business

Creating Inspired Moments

Right Questions, Right Time

Equal or Equitable Pay?

Meet the Team

Group Health Benefits

Steps to the Next Level

Keep Your Feet Down

Impact of Workplace Harassment

Have Social Media Work for Your Company Topgrading Steps to Hiring Better

The Importance of a Customer Service Vision Statement The Importance and True Relevance of a Question How to Get Top Team Performance Here to Serve Your Insurance Needs A Compelling Employee Benefit

Take Your Content Marketing Strategy to the Next Level The Dangers of Riding Around with Your Feet on the Dashboard Recent Media Stories Should Remind Business Leaders

welcome to R&B

elcome to Condotta Merrett, and welcome to our first issue of Risk and Business MagazineTM. We are very excited with this new project as the initial responses from our friends and clients have been very positive and it made our decision to go forward a lot easier. At Condotta Merrett we constantly strive to be better at what we do, from underwriting new business to the way we handle renewals. To meet that goal we have instituted new underwriting and renewal guidelines that should help retain existing clients as well as add additional clients. We encourage you to call us and see for yourself if we can be a perfect fit for your business, in fact I’m sure we would be a perfect fit for your business. As our motto states, we are your “Partner in Risk”. Enjoy the magazine and please drop me a line at amedeoc@ condottamerrett.com with your feedback.

Amedeo Condotta President

www.condottamerrett.com RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

R & B News & Events

Community Involvement at Condotta Merrett

Flat Screens to City Library Condotta Merrett recently donated 10 - 16” Flat Screen Computer Monitors to the City Library making it possible for them to upgrade their old bulky ones.

It’s Time for an Upgrade We are redoing our Web site and upgrading it to be more user friendly for quotes and communications. Facebook We are also upgrading our Facebook page with new information on a daily basis. End of Season Dinner Condotta Merrett recently hosted the end of season dinner for the Niagara Junior C Riverhawks hockey team. We have been the title sponsors for the past 5 years, 45 people were in attendance with awards going out for MVP and Leading scorer to Kyle Robertson. On the Business Side Condotta Merrett has relocated our Waterloo office, we have a new location in Kitchener. You can find us at 300 Victoria St. North in Units 1 & 2. Condotta Merrett guests of Intact in Buffalo April 1st found Condotta Merrett guests in the Intact Box in Buffalo. We attended the Toronto Maple Leafs vs Buffalo Sabres. Many thanks to Intact for an exciting evening.

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“Our Little Heroes” Supporting the “Our Little Heroes” for Autism Awareness Day, Condotta Merrett supports The Niagara Children’s Center in St. Catharines in their attempt in bring further awareness to Autism. Presenting a day filled with rides, face painting, balloon animals, raffles, exhibits and vendors, the day’s highlight will be the hockey game between the Toronto maple Leafs Alumni team and the Cotton Crusaders.

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

No More Problems, Please! A Different Approach to Strategy for all Companies BY: VERNE HARNISH AND ANDY BUYTING

irst, my public apology to all the companies I’ve misguided over the past two decades, as well as an apology to my employees. And while I’m at it, let me add a public apology to my family and friends.

I just didn’t know any better until I read a thin 70 page book called the Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry

I apologize for dredging up all their problems, for focusing on what is wrong instead of on what is right. I apologize for focusing on the F’s instead of the A’s. I just didn’t know any better until I read a thin 70 page book called the Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry.

me, as his new consultant, to some of the people in his accounting department. One of the women quipped “I suppose you’re here to point out everything we’re doing wrong.” Ouch! But an accurate description of the role of most consultants.

Quick summary – Focus on what’s working instead of on what’s not working. Period.

As a leader of my own firm, I’ve fallen into this same “problem analysis” focus of solving my growth company challenges. And as a father, during a recent teacherparent conference, I caught myself focusing more on the “B’s” than the “A’s”, even though I now know better – these are difficult habits to break.

Here’s the rub. During quarterly planning and consulting sessions the tendency is to make a list of problems and then spend the bulk of the time discussing these problems and trying to solve them. No wonder people dread the process. This was brought home to me recently when a client introduced

TM RISK RISK & BUSINESS & BUSINESS MAGAZINE MAGAZINE SPRING FALLTM 2014 2015

DRIVING REVENUES So what’s the alternative? Let me go back to my latest planning session with the client mentioned above. Their main challenge was driving revenue. Rather than analyze all the reasons why revenues were NOT growing as rapidly as they would like, we took a different tack. Instead, we explored a time when revenues were exploding i.e. when things were going great.

Rather than analyze all the reasons why revenues were NOT growing as rapidly as they would like... we explored a time when revenues were exploding i.e. when things were going great. Back a number of years ago, one of their divisions had driven revenues from $2 million to just over $9 million in the span of twelve months. Since then, that division’s revenues have gone flat. So we brought in the head of that division and rather than spend an hour analyzing why revenues had gone flat, instead we asked “what were you doing right back then that caused revenues to explode?” First, the head of the division was getting to re-live a positive time, rather than hash through a bunch of negatives. More importantly, about an hour into the conversation, as we continued to explore what worked for them in the past, the head of the division had a major insight. Back a few years ago, he was spending about a week a month out in the field visiting with his main distributors and customers. However, after experiencing the sharp jump in revenues, he was sucked into all the challenges of running a much larger operation which had reduced his field time to less than a week every quarter. The minute he said it, the CEO looked at his head of operations, he looked at me, and we all looked at the division head and we knew our answer had been found. We then spent the next hour figuring out how to get some

activities off the division head’s plate so he could get back out in the field.

the company was doing then that they aren’t doing now.

Results? When I checked back three months later, though the division head had not yet achieved a week/month of field time, he had managed to get out a lot more than he had been and in the process found a new product that may likely add $10 million in revenue next year! Now the company is faced with finding the cash to support the added inventory and again, when explored how they had successfully accomplished this in the past.

In one recent turnaround, he found seven distinct activities the firm was doing during the boom times that they weren’t doing now and he simply focused the firm on doing those activities again, even though the market and products had shifted over time. Results? Another successful turnaround.

DEFINING AND FOCUSING ON THE CORE CUSTOMER While discussing the downturn of company profitability over the past few years, Certified Gazelles Coach Andy Buyting brought a new client in the security guard industry through a core customer exercise. After analyzing the hard numbers and the gradual shift in customer profile in recent years, it was found that approximately 76% of their customers made up less than 5% of their revenues. What they concluded was they were wasting far too much (76%) of their time, attention and resources servicing clients that were simply not profitable. This was taking them away from their larger clients, clients they were better equipped to service well, and would most likely contribute to larger and more profitable growth in the future. Result? Within a three week period, they essentially fired (transferred out) three quarters of their customer list. This freed up their operations and admin people to focus on their large profitable clients. It also provided their sales team with clarity on their core customer, and has allowed them to grow larger, faster and with much stronger profitability.

FOCUS ON STRENGTHS Marcus Buckingham, the strengths movement guru (Go Put Your Strengths to Work), notes that if you want to help your children with their F’s, ask them about their A’s – what did they do to get their A’s, why they like that subject more than the other, what the teacher does, etc. You don’t ignore F’s, but you must study the A’s, not dwell on the F’s, if you have any hope of supporting your child in a positive way.

You don’t ignore your problems, but it’s far more productive to study what’s working... The same with your company. You don’t ignore your problems, but it’s far more productive to study what’s working, in your own company or others, as the best way to solve the challenges facing your growing firm.

TURNAROUND STRATEGIES

Verne Harnish is founder and CEO of Gazelles, a global executive education and coaching company, Verne has spent the past 30 years educating entrepreneurial teams. He’s the author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits which is endorsed by over 100 CEOs of mid-size companies and is published in ten languages.

Another friend who turns around business said he uses a similar process. He simply asks for a graph of the company’s financial performance for the past decade or so, looks for a point where the performance was stellar, and then brings together leaders and employees who were around during that period and spends a couple days inquiring into what

As a Certified Gazelles International Strategic Advisor, Andy Buyting provides strategic direction for high growth companies and their management teams as they grow their organizations to the next level. Learn more at www. AndyBuyting.com

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

7 Social Media Strategies Have Social Media Work for your Company BY: DAVE KERPEN, FOUNDER AND CEO, LIKEABLE LOCAL

one are the days of strictly using traditional marketing vehicles. Today, savvy SMB’s use search marketing, search engine optimization and various social media platforms to market their companies online. And, today is as good a time as any to look at your social media strategy. More than 1.3 billion people in the world are on Facebook, including over 180 million Americans. Twitter recently surpassed 400 million accounts. LinkedIn boasts over 300 million users. Many SMB’s are trying to take advantage of these trends, by using social networks to promote themselves and broadcast their messages, but few are fully reaping the rewards. If you stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a customer, you’ll understand the secret to social media is in the “social” more than in the “media”. It’s in being human, and being the sort of person at a cocktail party who listens attentively, tells great stories, shows interest in others and is authentic and honest. To put it simply, the secret is to be likeable. Here are seven tips to be more likeable and ensure great success using social media:

1. Listen first and never stop listening

Before your first tweet, search Twitter for people talking about your company and your competitors. Search using words that your prospective

customers would say as well. For example, real estate agents should use Twitter and Facebook to search for people using the words “looking for a realtor” in your town. You’ll be surprised how many people are already looking for you.

2. Don’t tell your customers to “Like” you and “Follow” you, tell them why and how they should

Everywhere you turn, you see “Like us on Facebook” and “Follow us on Twitter”. Huh? Why? How? Give your customers a reason to connect with you on social networks, answering the question “What’s in it for me?” and then make it incredibly easy to do so. Note the difference between these two calls to action: “Like our page on Facebook” vs. “Get answers to your questions on our Facebook page.”

3. Be authentic

Your customers don’t want to read impersonal posts and sales offers all day. Instead, be human and be yourself. Are you sponsoring a Little League team in your town? Share it with your fans! Know a few jokes related to your industry? Tell them! Show your company’s personality and watch your online community to engage and grow.

4. Why ask questions?

Wondering why nobody’s responding to your posts on Facebook? It’s probably because you’re

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not asking questions. Social media is about engagement and having a conversation, not about self-promotion. If a store posts on Facebook, “Come in and see what’s on the sale today,” nobody will comment and nobody will come. If that same store posts a question as simple as “What’s your favorite gift you’ve ever bought?” and attaches a great picture, people will be more likely to comment online and engage with the company.

5. Surprise and delight your customers

Want to bring more attention to your company’s social media pages and become more likeable overall? Figure out ways to surprise and delight your customers on a regular basis. Offer contests and raffles or encourage your community to join the conversation for a chance to win local gift cards that show off a town’s personality. Remember, free is like magic and a delighted customer will share their experience with friends and family.

6. Share pictures and videos to tell stories

People love photos. The biggest reason Facebook went from zero to 1 billion users in just 10 is photos. Photos and videos tell stories about you in ways a text alone cannot.

You don’t need a big production budget, either. Use your smartphone to take pictures and short videos of customers and cool things around town. Then upload them directly to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. A picture of happy, attractive customers is social media gold. Try a video featuring testimonials from your happy customers! A picture really is worth a thousand words – and a video is worth a thousand pictures.

7. Spend at least 30 minutes a day and use tools to help Likeable Local offers a software that makes social media fun, easy, and effective for small businesses. With advertising, analytics and idea suggestions, Likeable Local gives you the tools to be successful on social. If you bought a newspaper ad or radio ad, you wouldn’t spend five minutes on it or relegate it to interns, so don’t do it with social media. Spend real time each day reading and learning, listening and responding, and truly joining the conversation. The more time and effort you put in to social media, the more benefits you’ll see. The strategies listed above are critical to maintain and grow an online community, but before you even consider social media – I tell Likeable customers – consider this: Social media will help magnify and multiply the conversations about your company. Will you be happy about the nature of those conversations? Before you get involved with external communications – online marketing, advertising and social media – look internally at your company. The secret to the most effective marketing is so simple – just be likeable. Dave Kerpen is the the founder and CEO of Likeable Local, the cofounder and Chairman of Likeable Media, the NY Times Bestselling author of 3 books, the #1 LinkedIn Influencer of all time in pageviews, ahead of Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Mark Cuban and Barack Obama, and the proud father of Charlotte and Kate Kerpen.

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Hiring is a Risky Business Topgrading Steps to Hiring Better BY: DR. BRAD SMART, AUTHOR AND PRESIDENT AND CEO OF TOPGRADING, INC.

“The ability to make good decisions about people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage, since very few organizations are very good at it.” Peter Drucker

hich managers among us have not suffered from too many costly mis-hires? Dr. Brad Smart, widely respected as a hiring expert, offers three common sense steps to help us hire better. He coined the term Topgrading to mean achieving 90% success hiring and promoting people.

and the average number of hours “wasted” sweeping up after a mis-hire is more than 250 hours. The cost of keeping low performers gets bigger over time because they suck the energy and productivity of high performers who must work harder to prevent mistakes and later correct them.

R&B: Brad, let’s get straight into it. Why is hiring very risky?

R&B: OK, so what are the steps managers can take to hire better?

Brad: Because almost all managers suffer from poor hiring results. I met with the number one Human Resources executives from the largest 100 companies in the world. Across the board, they said that 75% of the people they hire turn out to be disappointments.

Brad: Step 1: Use the Topgrading “truth serum” which is simple: Tell candidates that a final step in hiring is for them, not the company, but for them to arrange reference calls with their former managers and others. The low performers, those with hyped resumes, drop out because they know there is no way that they could get their former managers to talk with the hiring company – nor would they want you to.

R&B: Why is the success rate so low for most companies? Brad: Most companies mis-hire people because of three things: One, candidates get away with lying on their resume and in interviews; two, interviewing methods are so shallow Forrest Gump could pass them; and three, companies don’t verify what candidates told them because the reference calls they conduct are generally ineffective. R&B: I know Topgrading has ways to overcome problems, but first let’s talk more about risk. What are the risks when there is a mis-hire? Brad: For three decades we’ve asked managers to estimate what it costs in money and time when they mis-hire someone. Bottom line, the average estimated cost of mis-hiring a $100,000 per year manager is over $400,000,

Step 2: Conduct a Topgrading interview. Remember, all the remaining candidates are motivated to tell the truth. The Topgrading Interview walks them through their career so you can really understand how they evolved and what their abilities and competencies are today. Start with their first job and come up to the present and ask: What were your successes? What were your failures? What were any additional key decisions or any important people interactions you had? Appraise your boss. (It’s very important to see what sort of bosses they liked, or not.) And here is the single most important and revealing question of all: If we were to ask you to arrange a reference call with your managers, what is your best guess as to what they would list as your strengths

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and your weaker points and how would they rate your overall performance? The Topgrading interview reveals how people they performed and improved, and how they learned from mistakes. Values are revealed and over time, clearly defined patterns uncover their strengths and weaker points today.

Step 3: Ask candidates to arrange reference calls with their former managers —and then make those calls. This assures solid verification of everything the candidate said. Ask candidates to arrange the calls with not just their bosses, but anyone you want to talk with. It might be a couple of sharp subordinates or peers. Or for a sales rep candidate, maybe you want to talk to a couple of customers and so forth. Candidates arrange the calls so there’s no telephone tag.

R&B: That’s brilliant. With regard to the Topgrading Interview, would you recommend one person or a panel do them? Brad: That is a terrific question. Definitely use two interviewers, the hiring manager and another manager, perhaps Human Resources. General Electric started with 25% success and with solo Topgrading Interviews improved to 50%. Jack Welch, GE CEO at the time, asked how they could improve and I suggested two interviewers. He implemented it and GE achieved an over 90% hiring success rate. Soon after, GE became the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization. The cool thing is that thousands of managers have been trained in Topgrading and when they use these three basic steps and conduct tandem Topgrading Interviews, they too achieve 80% and even 90% hiring success. And many managers prefer to have a Certified Topgrading Coach as the main interviewer and they serve as the tandem partner. R&B: Is Topgrading just for large companies? Brad: No! A single mis-hire in a small company could be devastating. Thousands of small- and mid-sized companies have successfully Topgraded. R&B: What proof is there that Topgrading really works so well? Brad: Go to www.topgradingcasestudies. com to read 40 case studies. On the first page is a master chart showing the average hiring success rate improved from 26% to 85%. And every CEO is quoted saying the company is more profitable because of Topgrading. R&B: Tell us a little how our readers can learn more. Brad: They can go to www.topgrading.com to download a free 70-page e-Book, Topgrading 201.

Dr. Brad Smart is an internationally renowned management psychologist and is generally regarded as the world’s leading expert on hiring best practices. Topgrading methods have helped leading companies such General Electric, Honeywell, Barclays, and American Heart Association plus hundreds of small and mid-sized companies improve their hiring methods.

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From Waitress to President:

The Rise of a Business Superstar

Kat Cole’s Sweet Success BY: NEIL WADHWA

he cinnamon roll shouldn’t be here. The story of the cinnamon roll only knowing the confines and comfort of mall foodcourts, remaining resilient against the glass-half empty nutritionists that called for its downfall, and then becoming the staple item in a billion dollar business, runs parallel to Cole’s own rise and the challenges she faced along the way. Cole went from “waitress” to “President” by thinking bigger, doing more, embracing change, and welcoming all challenges.

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Walk through most mall food-courts around the world and you’ll be sure to smell that magical aroma of sweet cinnamon, brown sugar, gooey icing, melting margarine, and pillow-soft pastry dough, calling your name. Follow your nose and you’ll end up at Cinnabon, the cinnamon roll brand with a cult following.

10 years later, at the age of 19, Cole started working at Hooters, selling beer and chicken wings. As Cole’s mom was still raising three kids on a low salary, Cole spent her time outside of Hooters (when not at school) working a second job at a local mall.

The cinnamon roll’s popularity hasn’t diminished at a time when fast-food chains and restaurant menus worldwide are adopting healthier options. In fact, Cinnabon has hit $1 billion in sales every year since 2012, and its licensed products can now be found everywhere from supermarket shelves, in packaged-foods by Kellogg and Pillsbury, to fastfood restaurants, including Taco Bell and Burger King. While Cinnabon’s success can be traced to Makara cinnamon—Cinnabon’s proprietary cinnamon from Indonesia that can be found in all of Cinnabon’s licensed products—and loyal customers willing to indulge in a little guilty pleasure every once in a while, the company can also take comfort in knowing it’s in the safe hands of Kat Cole. Cinnabon’s classic roll is 880 calories—330 more than a Big Mac. It goes against all the trends of the “make it healthier” and “make it artisanal” discussions that surround food in 2015. Yet it manages to survive, thrive, and expand. In many ways, the story of the classic roll echoes the story of Cole, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cinnabon, who is in a position that might have been unimaginable to her 9-year-old self.

“I had worked my buns off to be known as someone who could get the job done.”

“I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. Our father, who was a Vietnam veteran, had come back a troubled guy, and was making bad decisions. He wouldn’t be around for family events, or my mom was left to do things on her own, or he was out drinking and wouldn’t come home till late,” said Cole, during her recent appearance on Undercover Boss. “So, when I was nine years old, my mom had the courage to leave him and take me and my two younger sisters to a different city so that we could start a new life. She fed our little family of three girls on $10 a week.” It’s in these early stages of life where Cole learned to take charge and be responsible—traits not typically asked of a 9-year-old. But it’s these very traits developed by Cole at an early age that still help guide her throughout her professional career. Cole watched as her mom became the leader of the family. More importantly, seeing her mom feed three growing girls on $10 a week instilled in her the drive to be successful, a drive that can only be understood by those who have grown up in situations similar to Cole.

Her time at Hooters wasn’t one of working for tips, but rather embracing any opportunity that came her way, gladly accepting challenges that others would turn away from. “I was in the right place at the right time with a company that was growing, but at the same time, I had worked my buns off to be known as someone who could get the job done. When the cooks quit, I went in the back and learned how to cook, when the managers needed help, I helped, when the other servers or people needed help, I was there to help, because I was curious and I genuinely wanted to help,” Said Cole, in a recent interview with NextShark.

“Fast forward a year of doing that, I was one of the few people that had worked every job in the building. So when someone called and said ‘hey, we want you to go overseas and open restaurants,’ it wasn’t just that I was chosen, it wasn’t just that I was lucky, it’s that I had happened to put myself in a position— unknowingly—to be one of the top candidates.”

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For Cole, every challenge and every new opportunity was a new chance to learn and grow.

For Cole, every challenge and every new opportunity was a new chance to learn and grow. She was willing to put herself in new situations, ones that she may not have had the skills or training for at the time, in order become a well rounded, knowledgeable employee—rather than one that had only very narrow, replaceable skillsets. Nothing encapsulates Cole’s willingness more than when Hooters asked her to help open a restaurant in Australia. Although she had run every aspect of the Jacksonville’s Hooters location, what Cole had never done at that point in her life was step on soil outside of her home state of Florida—never mind stepping on an airplane. She asked management for a day to decide, and after consulting her mom, flew to Miami to stand in line and get a passport, which could be completed within the day. She got the passport, and was soon in Australia, where she spent 40 days helping with the opening of the restaurant. Management never knew about her day trip to Miami in order to get the passport. At the time, Cole thought of Hooters as just a pit stop, as she was pursuing an engineering degree at the University of Northern Florida, with plans on enrolling in law school afterwards. But Cole’s experience in Australia was life changing. Not only was it her first trip outside of Florida, but also management saw how successful she was and started sending Cole to more countries to open more restaurants. As a result, she made the decision to drop out of school. A big decision, considering Cole was the first of her family to go to college—and a decision she would revisit less than 10 years down the line. This continued the trend of embracing opportunity and change, rather than question and resist change in order to follow a path seemingly set in stone.

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After opening restaurant locations for less than two years, a Vice President at Hooters asked the then 20-year-old Cole to apply for a management job based in Hooters’ Atlanta headquarters. Cole applied—even dressing up for the phone interview—and got the job. Six short years later, Cole became a VP of Hooters herself. To make up for the fact that didn’t have a university degree— revisiting her decision to leave the University of Northern Florida 10 years earlier—Cole completed her Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and then enrolled in Georgia State University’s Executive MBA Program. In 2010, still a student in her early 30s, FOCUS Brands, the Atlanta-based franchisor and operator of six food-

service chains with over 4,500 locations in the United States and 63 other countries, hired her as the CEO of Cinnabon. Two short months after she was hired, Cole finished her MBA. One month after finishing her MBA, she was promoted to president of Cinnabon. At 32, Cole was responsible for over 1,000 Cinnabon locations in over 50 countries, which, at the time, was approaching $1 billion in annual sales.

Kat Cole promoted to President of FOCUS Brands In February 2015—during the very week of this article’s initial drafts—Kat Cole, now 36, was promoted to president of FOCUS Brands, putting her in charge of Carvel, Schlotzsky’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, McAlister’s Deli, in addition to Cinnabon. A short 17 years ago, Cole was just in charge of wings and beer at the Jacksonville Hooters. “I was the daughter of an alcoholic and a single parent, I worked at Hooters most of my life, and I dropped out of college,” Cole explained to Charlotte Alter for an interview with Time Magazine. “You tell me if that inspires you to want to have me run your company.” We think FOCUS made the right decision.

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Creating Inspired Moments The Importance of a Customer Service Vision Statement BY: JOHN DiJULIUS, PRESIDENT, THE DiJULIUS GROUP

“Putting our feet in the shoes of the Customers, [we understood] what they were dealing with and [their] anxiety . . .We were growing the company with such speed and aggression that we lost sight of the Customer experience.” -Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ CEO, Wall Street Journal 2011

n 2010, I had one of the highlights of my consulting career: Starbucks asked me to help it re-create its Customer service vision statement. I have worked with Starbucks in the past, but this was different. I knew this was going to be something that would live for a long, long time in Starbucks. Starbucks has always been one of my favorite companies, both as a Customer and as a Customer service consultant. I was so excited! I knew that no one helped create better Customer service vision statements than The DiJulius Group. I knew we were perfect for this project. I was so excited about taking on this project, until I asked them what their current vision statement was that they wanted to change: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” I thought to myself, Wow, that’s pretty good. I honestly didn’t know if we could improve on that. I asked Craig Russell, senior vice president of global coffee, why he felt that statement didn’t work for Starbucks. He replied, “We love the statement; those are Howard’s [Schultz’s] words. It is more of our purpose. As far as a Customer service vision, it is too big, too aspirational. We want something that’s actionable, trainable, measurable.” As I thought about it, he was right. If someone comes in and orders a venti soy latte, and the barista gives

it to them exactly how they ordered it, in ninety seconds, did the barista inspire or nurture their human spirit? Probably not. That is something that takes dozens and dozens of positive experiences. I believe Starbucks does that. But it doesn’t happen one time. So we did what we do with all our consulting clients when making a Customer service vision statement; we started with scripting a day in the life of a Starbucks Customer (see chapter 5 for the day-in-the-life discussion). A Starbucks Customer is easy to relate to. Virtually anyone reading this book can relate, whether you actually frequent Starbucks or not. Starbucks customers are people with discretionary income who are battling the hustle and bustle of their busy lives, trying to balance everything they have going on personally and professionally—people dealing with the daily grind that can wear us all down from time to time.

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Inspired moments One of the biggest takeaways from this workshop that the group of executives from Starbucks shared was that Starbucks can’t change what’s going to happen today to its Customers. Whether they get a flat tire on their way to work or they are irate because their package didn’t arrive next-day air, as promised, what Starbucks can provide (and does provide very well) is an escape—if only for a few seconds in the Customer’s day. Starbucks allows its Customers to step inside, collect themselves, see some friendly faces—whether it be the workers, friends, or neighbors from the community—and take a break, enjoy a beverage, regroup, and then go back and take on the world again. There it was. The team had it: the Starbucks’ Customer service vision statement. One of my proudest trophies as a consultant is the Starbucks green apron. The next time you walk into a Starbucks, anywhere in the world, and you see a Starbucks employee wearing that signature green apron, politely ask them to turn the inside top of the apron over for you. There is where you will see the Starbucks Customer service vision statement and pillars printed. It reads:

Why is the service vision statement printed on the inside of the green apron? It isn’t for the Customers or public to see; it is for the Starbucks employees to see. And every time they put that apron over their head, they are reminded of their job for every Customer with whom they come in contact with.

Personalize—This means customization. With over eighty thousand ways someone can order a Starbucks beverage, you truly can have it your way.

Pillars to the service vision statement The four pillars to the Starbucks service vision statement have to do with the company’s key drivers of Customer satisfaction:

Each of the pillars is critical, but only in conjunction with each other. Customers want their drinks made exactly how they ordered it, quickly—but not by someone with an attitude. Just the same, a

Anticipate—This might mean that if a barista notices a Customer in a business suit, at 6:05 a.m., ordering his coffee, while barely looking up from his smartphone, he probably has some place to be. Get him his drink and help him get on his way. On the other hand, it can be a completely different pace at 9:05 a.m., when a barista encounters a few mothers who just dropped their children off at school and seem to be in no rush.

Customer does not want someone to greet them by name and have their drink ready for them before they order it, only to have their drink made incorrectly.

Connect—A connection could be recognizing regulars and having their drinks ready for them, or it could just be a smile or a kind word.

Own—Starbucks trusts its employees. They can own the experience. If a little girl drops her hot chocolate, a Starbucks employee can give her a new one for free.

John R. DiJulius III is considered the authority on world-class Customer service and is the author of three books on Customer experience. He is the president of The DiJulius Group—a Customer service consulting fi rm that works with companies like Starbucks, Chick-fi l-A, The Ritz-Carlton, Nestle, PwC, Lexus, and many more. John is also the founder and owner of John Robert’s Spa—named one of the Top 20 Salons in America

The content for this article was taken from The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow convention Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World, (January 2015 Greenleaf Books) by John R. DiJulius III

Big Impact The Starbucks service vision statement contributed to the company’s turnaround in 2010 and 2011. Earnings rose 44 percent, Customer visits rose by 5 percent, and more Customers were paying for higher-priced items.

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Right Questions, Right Time The Importance and True Relevance of a Question BY: ERIC FRY, MANAGING PARTNER, SANDLER TRAINING

takes place once you leave the building... All forward motion stops.

was: “Will you be able to handle a 4-province distribution schedule?”

Then prospect poses an innocent sounding question, “So, how big is your company?”

The prospect no longer returns your calls. Your emails receive ambiguous replies and weeks pass by. You’re off the prospect’s radar screen. You find that no one else in the company seems willing to acknowledge your attempts to reach out. It’s like the prospect has ordered everyone in the enterprise to deny your company’s existence.

As it happens, you can handle a 4-province distribution schedule. But the answer your company taught you to repeat only mentions one province. And that was enough (non)information for this prospect to tune you out... without telling you why.

ou are in the middle of your second or third good discussion with a prospect and everything seems to be going great. The prospect seems engaged and happy to work with you.

Without hesitation, you answer that question. You recite, more or less verbatim, the standard reply you were trained to recite when people ask you about the size of your company. The answer laid out for you in your orientation workshops, promotion materials, and brochures: 85 employees, a headquarters location, and 3 other regional offices across Atlantic. The prospect nods and the conversation continues. Although there are plenty of smiles, pleasantries, and earnest promises to be in touch as you wrap up your meeting, the oddest thing

What happened?!? You answered all the prospect’s questions! My belief system states you should only answer your prospects’ questions if doing so can help you... or at least it can’t hurt you. Since prospects tend to “smokescreen” their questions - meaning that they tend to ask questions whose true purposes aren’t likely to be clear to you at first you must make sure, first and foremost, that you’re answering the real question.

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Guess what? When that prospect so innocently asked, “How big is your company?” the real question

In most cases, and especially in the early going, you have to assume that every question you hear from a prospect is a smokescreen question. So the question, “How soon can you get shipment to us?” may mean, “Can you get shipment to us by 10:30 Thursday morning?” The question, “How strict are you with quantity discounts?” may mean, “Can I take advantage of the quantity discount and arrange for a 14-day split-shipment?”. If you make a habit of answering the first question you hear, you’ll never understand the real question! You must discover why the prospect asked you the question you just heard. You must identify the underlying intent.

Intent: The importance and true relevance of the question to the topic of discussion. If you don’t know the intent you cannot respond intelligently. How do you identify the intent? By Reversing. Reversing is the strategy of responding to your prospect’s questions and statements with a question. It puts the verbal ball back in the prospect’s court. Reversing prevents you from attempting to mind-read. It adds clarity and completeness to the prospect’s smokescreen questions and statements. It helps you uncover the underlying intent of those questions and statements. Some reversing questions include: Why do you ask? Why is that important? Why did you bring that up just now? What are you really asking? What are you really saying? Reversing must be done with caution. Firing back with questions in response to the prospect’s questions may sound harsh. So in most cases, you will want to precede your questions with softening statements. That’s a good question. And you’re asking me that because...? Many people ask me that. And that’s important to you because...? That’s an interesting question. Why do you ask? (What brought that up?) Good point. And you brought that up now because...? I appreciate you sharing that. I can’t help wondering, what are you really saying? Often it takes three or more reverses to get the prospect’s real question. In this case, if you had asked effective Reversing questions, you could have gotten to the prospect’s true question and confirmed that a 4-province roll-out was no problem. And you would still be in the game.

Eric Fry is Managing Partner with Sandler Training. Prior to Sandler Training, Eric worked for a number of well-known, international organizations including Xerox and Staples Advantage while honing his skills in sales and leadership throughout his career. RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

Equal or Equitable Pay? How to Get Top Team Performance

BY: GREG CRABTREE, PARTNER, CRABTREE, ROWE & BERGER, PC

ver since I identified Labor Productivity as the #1 key to profitability in my book “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!”, I have continued to research how the best teams produce more than their peers. Professional sports teams offer a good laboratory for this discussion. The NFL presents the best picture since they have a labor agreement that imposes a “salary cap” that prevents any team from spending more than the cap amount any one year. I offer up the New England Patriots as the best example of this. They have made it to the playoffs 12 out the last 14 years and won 3 Super Bowls. During that same time period, the Oakland Raiders have not even come close to the playoffs. Clearly, the Patriots have produced more output for every dollar they spent than the Raiders. This requires every dollar spent to be productive. Every position player, every coach, and every front office person has to do their job to select the right players, negotiate a fair pay for performance, develop a successful game strategy, coach the players to be ready, and execute to their best ability during game time. Your business is no different. I contend that every business has a natural salary cap that they must live under. For every level of revenue, in every industry, businesses have a common cost structure they must live by. The only thing that changes the non-labor costs in business is the actions of exceptional team members. If you have exceptional managers who select, lead, and manage their team, only then will you be able to beat the competition.

Sounds great, but it is hard to do. I have come to believe that the missing element is compensating your team “equitably” not “equally.” As I have been able to study my clients’ data, it has become evident to me that productive people want to work around other productive people. They also want to be recognized with reasonable differences in pay based on their measurable (or perceived) performance. This is what we refer to as “Market Based Pay for Market Based Performance.” Whether you try to keep wages confidential or are open book like my company is, your team has a way to find out (or guess) what their peers make. I do not recommend it for every business, but if you do not hide compensation, it causes fewer headaches if you truly strive for no inequities in pay of your team. Internet sources for comparable pay like Glassdoor.com and Salary.com make readily available data for pay comparison. What you need to do is establish your process to coach your team through where they stand to how they can make more by producing more. In Adam Grant’s blog from giveandtake. com, I read a quote that really struck me:

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“Equity matters more than equality. Differences in pay aren’t a problem as long as they’re fair. When players are paid less than teammates who aren’t performing any better, jealousy, resentful, and discouragement often follow. When they’re paid less than teammates who deliver more value, they understand.” I could not agree more. Your team knows who is productive and who is not. Your job is to take action before the productive ones leave you for a more equitable position. Why would you be the Oakland Raiders when you could be the New England Patriots?

Greg Crabtree, Author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits, is a partner at Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, an accounting firm focused solely on the needs of entrepreneurs, helping them build the economic engine of their businesses.

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R & Meet the Team B Here to Better Serve your Insurance Needs BY: CONDOTTA MERRETT INSURANCE

John Gill John graduated from A.N. Myer Secondary school in 1978. His insurance career began in 1982 after 5 years as a professional baseball player in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system. He received his Registered Insurance Brokers Inc. (R.I.B.O.) licence after attending the two week course in Toronto. John graduated in the top of his class. His first employer was Morningstar Bampfield, which became All Niagara Insurance, First Niagara Insurance and now Condotta Merrett & Co. Insurance Brokers Inc. John has had other offers in the insurance industry, but loyalty is very important to him. In his first year he was responsible for receiving, reporting , and following up on all claims. It was soon after this he became involved in selling and servicing clients for both personal and commercial insurance. In a matter of 5 years John had clients in Niagara Falls and also looked after the office which was located in Niagara on the Lake. He quickly progressed to being appointed the Commercial Marketer at First Niagara Insurance. In this position he would underwrite and market new and existing commercial files with his colleagues. With this experience, John is capable of handling the most complex commercial policies to the basic policy. In his early years John was a sports enthusiast playing on hockey, baseball and football teams. This is one of the factors that make John a strong communicator. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, John has strong ties to the local community and has volunteered his time to many local non profit events.

David Falardeau David has 23 years of experience in the insurance industry. He has a dedicated and sophisticated approach to his knowledge and understanding of Auto, Home and Commercial insurance, as well as, Risk Management. David is a leader in claims advocacy and placement of all insurance coverageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. David takes special pride in being a strong professional while maintaining integrity and honesty with all his clients. Actively involved in the community, David volunteers for various kids programs in the Fort Erie area. David has been involved in many junior golf camps, as well as, ladies golf clinics. He was also a member of the Fort Erie Jay Cees and still is a member of the Canadian Professional Golf Association (CPGA). David is an avid golfer and is a member of the Bridgewater Country Club. Another sport David has been involved with is hockey. David studied business administration at Sir Sandford Fleming College and attained a 3 year diploma graduating with honors at the top of his class. David is a Registered Insurance Broker of Ontario (RIBO) and has been senior broker at Condotta Merrett & Co. since January, 1992. David writes all facets of insurance ranging from auto and home insurance to golf clubs, asbestos removal, landscaping companies, precious metal companies, just to name a few. David continues to grow everyday in the business and always wanting to be there at all times for his clients. David takes a certain pride in taking the time to meet with people and put their insurance needs first.

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Brent Thomas Brent is a broker at Condotta Merrett & Co. Insurance Brokers Inc. He has been with Condotta Merrett since 2004. Recruited into the industry by his mentor and principal broker, Amedeo Condotta. He was managing a bicycle store and Amedeo was his customer. Amedeo saw something in him, perhaps it was his calming demeanor or his dedication to customer service. Regardless, Amedeo offered me a position and Brent took him up on his offer and he hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looked back since. During his time in the Insurance Industry he has focused on the tools necessary to succeed. He believes they are, furthering his education, building lasting relationships and giving back to the community. In the initial stages Brent focused on Personal Insurance products, homes, cars and toys. This allowed him to get his feet wet and experience what the industry is all about. For the last few years his focus has turned to Commercial lines. This is what he believes to be his natural progression. It has allowed him to exercise his knowledge and experience and truly make a difference in the lives of the businesses he has come in contact with. Brent is also on the board of the YBC, Young Brokers Council of IBAO. This allows him the opportunity to network with like minded individuals from all over the province and gain a lot of management experience. It also allows him the opportunity to meet and help influence young people hoping to come into the industry. In the community Brent is active as a soccer coach at the grass roots level throughout the region. Brent finds it fulfilling to be a big part of seeing kids grow and learn.

Group Health Benefits A Compelling Employee Benefit

BY: PETER BAGNULO, MANAGER, LIFE AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

n today’s competitive and fast-moving world, companies often find it challenging to attract and obtain quality employees. As a result, more and more employers are turning to Group Health Plans as a compelling employee benefit. As a business owner, there are many advantages of having a Group Health Plan in place. The advantages are accomplished by providing a competitive edge in the job market with cost-effective and a tax-effective form of compensation to your employee which helps them to alleviate the added burden of government cost-shifting. It also addresses the special needs of some employees with coverage available without any medical questionnaires to complete and offers access to services like counseling referral programs that help employees deal with issues stemming from work or home. Lastly, it delivers peace of mind in knowing that you, your employees and their families are in good care.

Group Benefit Plans can be designed to exactly fit your needs with flexibility for both employers and employees. Enrolment and contributions are optional, and members can benefit from our services. As a qualified professional, I can also assist each employee in creating their own personal financial plan. Most competitors may already have plans in place. If you currently have a plan, you might want to review your package to determine if your company is getting the best value possible for your members. Group Benefits are not all alike, and it is important to choose the right plan. After researching all the available options, my mission is to provide you with the best plan that fits the needs and dynamics of your company. I also feel it is important to educate you, as a business owner, about the dynamics and factors of a Group Health Benefit Package. The health insurance industry is exponentially evolving and it is important for you to

understand your company’s benefit plan and its effectiveness and suitability for your company. I conduct business in a helpful, personal manner and with ease that is consistent with the way I think financial affairs should be conducted. It is my role to create value in your Group Health Plan which is attained by maximizing your coverage while controlling your costs. If you have any interest, questions or concerns, I look forward to speaking with you. We are your “Partner in Risk”!

Steps to the Next Level

Take Your Content Marketing Strategy to the Next Level BY: JOE PULIZZI, FOUNDER OF CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE, AUTHOR OF EPIC CONTENT MARKETING

ccording to the latest research from Content Marketing Institute, just 38% of marketers say they are finding success with content marketing. With nine in 10 marketers doing some kind of content marketing, but yet the majority “failing” at it, we have a significant problem. In many cases, marketers are doing the wrong things. Here’s five thoughts you need to be thinking about right now if you want to take your program to the next level.

don’t do this. In my third book, Epic Content Marketing, I talk about six principles that are essential to epic content marketing. The sixth, and perhaps most important, is setting a goal/mission to be the “best of breed” informational provider for your industry niche — i.e., to truly be the leading informational resource for your industry.

1. Take “best of breed” seriously Ninety-nine percent of companies

If no one would miss your information, you’ve got work to do. Start by setting your goal, then set up the processes and invest in the people you need to reach that goal.

* Native Advertising A Directly Paid Opportunity. Native advertising is “pay to play”. If a brand or individual did not pay for the spot, it’s not native advertising. Usually Content Based. The information is useful, interesting and highly targeted to the specific readership. In all likelihood, it’s not an advertisement promoting the company’s product or service directly. Delivered In-Stream. The user experience is not disrupted. The advertising is delivered in a way that does not impede the normal behavior of the user in that particular channel. Again, the goal of native advertising is to not disrupt the user experience…to offer information that is somewhat helpful and similar to the other information on the site so that the content is engaged with at a higher rate than, say, a banner ad.

Ask yourself this: If your content marketing disappeared from the planet, would anyone miss it?

2. Follow the “3-legged-stool” model Almost every successful media company in the world leverages the “3-LeggedStool” model: creating content for digital, print (print magazine or newsletter), and in-person (customer event or series of customer meetings). I believe that if your brand doesn’t leverage all three channels in a meaningful way, you cannot truly be an industryleading informational source. Beyond that, there is a huge opportunity in leveraging print channels specifically. Just think of it like the value of a trade show where all your customers are in attendance, but none of your competition showed up. That’s the value print content marketing currently represents. I smell opportunity. 3. Leverage native advertising while you can In a recent LinkedIn native advertising* post, I wrote the following: Publishers are using native to survive and grow. Brands are using native to steal audience from the publisher. It’s that simple. I’m not sure how long publishers in your industry will offer native advertising opportunities. If I’m a brand, I’m going to want to go all-in

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on leveraging native to steal as much audience as possible. Look into it. 4. Kill a channel Here’s a publishing truth: It’s likely that, with each new channel you add to your content marketing plan, the other channels you are already using will take a small hit in quality and focus. I’ve seen this time and again as our concentration goes wider and our relevance gets broader. I’d like to challenge you to kill a channel (or two) and put a renewed focus on the channels that are most worthy of your time and attention. Be amazing: Be great at distributing content through three channels; use another three to heavily promote that content; and forget the rest… at least for a while. Then check the results. 5. Begin with the end in mind If you’ve read Stephen Covey’s long-time best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, you’ll recognize this one as the second habit: Begin with the End in Mind. In Covey’s words: It focuses on what you want to be and do. It is your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world. If you don’t know what you want to be, in terms of your content marketing, when you grow up, how will you know if you are on the right path? Things to do: Create your content marketing mission statement. Set a subscriber goal for your content. Decide what you ultimately want subscribers to do. Answer the question, “How Will We Know We Are Succeeding?“ Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content Marketing Institute and author of Epic Content Marketing. Joe can be reached on Twitter @JoePulizzi.

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Keep Your Feet Down!

The Dangers of Riding Around with Your Feet on the Dashboard BY: AMEDEO CONDOTTA, PRESIDENT , CONDOTTA MERRETT & CO. INSURANCE BROKERS INC.

ow many times have you heard or said that phrase? Keep your feet off the coffee table… keep your feet off the sofa! Probably a few more times than you would prefer. Now that I have our attention, it’s not what I’m referring to. I’m referring to the number of times you have wanted to yell it out to a passenger in a vehicle who has her or his feet up on the dash board, playing with their iPad or relaxing to music and watching the scenery go by on one of our highways. It doesn’t even need to be on the 400 series highways, it can be on a local road going 80 kph. What are the dangers of riding around with your feet sitting on the dash of the vehicle you are riding in or worse if your legs are bent and your feet are planted against the dash board? Imagine that the airbags are deployed in about the same time it takes you to blink an eye or more precisely about 300 KPH.

They are designed to protect you from an accident and in the case of the passenger the airbags are designed to deploy over the whole front passenger compartment. So once the airbag is deployed your legs are driven upwards toward the windshield or roof and then your knees are driven into your face at a very high rate of speed. The resulting injuries could be broken orbital bones, broken nose, broken jaw, serious head trauma with possible brain injuries.

That alone could be catastrophic - broken legs and ankles, and who knows what else. Those are the obvious physical injuries that would occur and which may heal over time but what about the psychological injuries that may never

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heal. Years and tears could be spent on this type of rehabilitation and at what cost? Statistics may not be available as to how many of these types of accident occur in Ontario every year but I’m sure there are several. The cost of rehabilitation would probably be very high and if the proper insurance coverage had not been purchased, then the basic rehab benefits in the standard auto policy would be grossly inadequate. (FSCO stated in 2014 that only 4% of all auto policies sold in Ontario included the increased Rehabilitation coverage). Prior to the auto insurance reforms the higher rehabilitation coverage was standard in Ontario. So when you receive your next auto renewal make sure you inquire as to how much more it would cost to bring your coverage up to pre-reform limits. It’s surprisingly in expensive but it may be the best insurance purchase you make.

Impact of Workplace Harassment Recent Media Stories Should Remind Business Leaders BY: VITA GAULEY, ASSOCIATE , LANCASTER BROOKS & WELCH

he past year has pushed issues of workplace sexual harassment into the spotlight and became a topic of National news and considerable discussion. In response to the overwhelming media attention, several large corporations drop endorsements of those individuals affiliated with the allegations, media outlets align in the heavily scrutinized dissection of employer actions and even the Ontario government announced a package of initiatives designed to take action against sexual harassment and violence. With the topic of sexual harassment making headlines, it is appropriate that we engage you in a refresher and recommend that as an employer that you revisit and review your obligations to both prevent sexual harassment and respond to allegations of this nature. The Ontario’s Human Rights Code (“Code”) provides that every person who is an employee has the right to be free from harassment in the workplace, including sexual harassment. This includes the right to freedom from sexual solicitation or advances by a person who may be in a position of authority. The Code defines “harassment” as “engaging in a course of vexatious

conduct or comment that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome”. “Employee” is broadly defined and may in certain circumstances include volunteers and independent contractors. An employer has an obligation to provide a harassment-free workplace and to ensure that the workplace environment is not poisoned by inappropriate behaviours and attitudes, which through condoning or willful blindness arguably become normal and/or acceptable standards of the workplace atmosphere. In 2010, we saw amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), commonly referred to as “Bill 168” amendments. As a result of the amendments employers are required to develop, post and maintain policies and programs regarding workplace violence and harassment. Thus expanding the obligation imposed under the Code, to include all forms of harassment, not just those based upon a protected ground under the Code. The OHSA also required employers assess risks of workplace violence, conduct training, and take other prescribed steps to ensure a process and procedure to facilitate the reporting,

investigation and potential resolution of workplace harassment complaints. Employers should take this time to review their internal Workplace Harassment Policies and ensure that they have been properly communicated to employees and that employees have received the proper training. The prevailing obligation of every employer is to provide a workplace free of harassment, and to act quickly and definitively where complaints of sexual harassment are made. Consider whether you have hired new employees, introduced new on-site consultants or experienced a complaint of workplace harassment. If so, it is appropriate to conduct further training and education on the topic. Prevention, and working towards a reasonable and suitable resolution when an issue arises, will assist in ensuring employees are provided with a harassment-free workplace and will mitigate against any liability the employer may incur in the event of a breach. Apart from those benefits in minimizing potential liability, it will serve to develop positive employee relations by confirming the employer’s commitment to providing a safe and respectful working environment.

Vita Gauley is an Associate at Lancaster Brooks & Welch, should you have any questions about sexual harassment in the workplace or any other workplace harassment issue, please contact Vita, or any of the members of the Labour and Employment Practice at Lancaster, Brooks & Welch LLP in St Catharines at 905-641-1551 or VGauley@lbwlawyers.com

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